Breakdown
by DareRelaqz
Summary: Percy's the bravest person Annabeth has ever met. She never thought she would ever see his breaking point. One-shot.


A/N: Hi guys, welcome to my first official fan fiction. I'm a huge Percy Jackson and the Olympians fan and decided to give writing my own fic a shot after reading an absurd amount of them. I was about to make this a full fledged story with JUST Percy and Annabeth, but I found it really hard to write since I left other important characters like Grover and Thalia (Intentionally) If I get enough reads / reviews and you guys REALLY want to see it, I didn't scrap it and have a few chapters written, so I may upload it. Plus, i'm very open to ideas. If you have an idea for a fic yourself and want to see it come to life, let me know. Disclaimer: I'm not talented. Which means I'm (sadly) not Rick Riordan. Which means I don't own the Percy Jackson series. Read, review, and most importantly, enjoy!

Breakdown

To Annabeth, Percy was the bravest person she's ever met. She knew it took a lot to break him, because after being through so much together, she's never seen him break. Until now…

It all happened so fast. One calm summer night, a year after the war with Gaea, Percy and Annabeth were in his apartment, snuggling on the couch watching a movie. They were inseparable since Tartarus. After closing the Doors of Death, they were shells of themselves, but were getting frequent help from campers, friends, relatives, and each other. Eventually, Camp Half-blood had its heroes back.

So here they are, sitting on the couch, enjoying each other's company. Annabeth found herself in Percy's apartment a lot, almost as if she lived there. Sally even gave her spare keys to the door, and told her she'll always be like family. Whenever she looked at Annabeth, she saw the daughter she always wanted but never had. Sally was in her room with Paul, packing their suitcases, getting ready to visit some of Paul's relatives in Philadelphia.

"Percy, honey, we're leaving" Sally called from the front door. Percy shot up from the couch and ran to the front door to say goodbye, with Annabeth following behind him.

"Be safe, mom." Percy said as he hugged Sally. After the war, he was worried sick about everyone he knew. Even when Sally went out to buy groceries, Percy hugged her tightly, urging her to be safe.

"We will, don't you worry. We won't be going for too long." She replied, "And Annabeth, feel free to swing by here anytime if you need anything. It's your house too."

"Thanks Sally" Annabeth said as the demigods waved them goodbye. They went back to the couch, continuing with their movie. An hour later, the movie ended.

"I'm tired" said Annabeth as she stretched and yawned, "I think I'll go shower and call it a day"

"Alright" Percy said before pecking her on the lips lightly, "Good night"

Percy was left alone on the couch, so he flipped through all the TV channels, looking for something to watch. Then his phone buzzed, a "Breaking News" notification popping up, but before he could press it, the battery died. He turned on the news, and his heart broke.

"…authorities are uncertain what caused the crash, but paramedics on sight declared the two passengers dead on impact… "Percy recognized the car…His step dad's Prius…

He froze.

_Dead…? No, no, no… it can't be!_ He thought to himself. He pressed the mute button on the remote, dropped it on the floor, and buried his face in his hands, tears falling uncontrollably.

Annabeth came in the living room to see her boyfriend lying on the couch, his hands squeezing a pillow over his head so hard his knuckles were white. He was shaking.

"Percy, what happened? Did you have another nightmare?" she asked, but got no response. She sat down next to him and grabbed his hand, trying to pry his grip from the pillow, but he wouldn't budge. She looked for the remote to shut the TV, and then she saw it. The news were on, with the words "Fatal crash kills two, one injured" in big letters. The images zoomed in, and she recognized the Prius, the same one she drove in with Percy so many times that summer. Tears stung her eyes, but she had to restrain them. She had to be strong. For Percy's sake.

She grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him up. He sat up reluctantly, letting go of the pillow but still covering his face. Annabeth felt her heart break. She's never seen him like this. She hugged him tightly, reassuring him she was there like always. He was the first to speak after a short silence, his sobbing the only sound in the house.

"T-T-th-they…" he couldn't form a sentence as he choked on the words. He couldn't bring himself to say it, even though he knew it was true. His mother was killed. Dead and gone…forever…This wasn't like the first time, when he was 12. Back then, so much information hit him at the same time it was hard to keep focus: He was a demigod, his best friend was a half goat, and he found out he's the forbidden son of an all powerful sea god. It was easy to get distracted. But now that all his troubles seemed to be behind him, he was broken.

"Percy…I'm so sorry..." Annabeth said, tracing pattern on his back, now letting the tears fall. She couldn't see him like this. She couldn't take it. Ever since he saved her from Atlas, she never believed she would see him like this, and after they started dating, that belief became even stronger. He's the bravest, strongest, nicest human being she knows, and here he is, completely losing it.

She knew how much Sally meant to him. On their first quest, when they smashed the pearls at their feet to escape Hades, she couldn't believe he would leave his mom behind. As she got to know the two of them, she realized this was more than a mother-son relationship - They meant everything to each other. Percy loved Sally so much, and he still does. Before Annabeth officially met her, Percy used to tell her stories of how great Sally was. He was right. She was a motherly figure to Annabeth, one she never truly had. Sure, she had Athena, but a god couldn't sit around all day, babysitting his children.

"They're gone…" he spoke, in almost a whisper, "And I'll never see them again"

Annabeth pulled him closer again, "Shh…It'll all be ok…"

"How could it be ok?" he asked in a near whisper.

"Percy, don't say that."

"I feel so weak…" She couldn't take it anymore. She pulled away from the hug and looked at her boyfriend, shaking, full of sadness and fear. She wouldn't let him break himself down

"Percy Jackson, you are not weak. You saved Zeus' bolt when you were 12. You survived the underworld. You took the weight of the world off my shoulders. You saved Olympus twice, and you fell into Tartarus with me. You are the bravest person I know. Don't you refuse to believe that you're anything but brave, and I'll always be here for you because you've always been there for me, and you always will. I'll always be here, no matter what. You know that right? Anything you need. I'm always here." They sat there in silence for another ten minutes, until Percy finally calmed down, "Come on, let's go wash your face." She grabbed Percy's hands and pulled him up. She hugged his waist as he walked, nearly losing his balance multiple times. She turned on the sink and washed Percy's face, hoping the water would make him feel better. Percy dried up before Annabeth hugged him again.

"I'm sorry" he said in a low voice.

"Percy, don't be sorry." She said as she kissed him lightly on the cheek and rubbed it in her hand "For anything. I'll always be here for you. Anything you need, you know I'm always here." She said as she hugged him again. They stood in the bathroom in silence again, embracing each other.

"Annabeth?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you stay the night? I…I don't want to be alone." She pulled away and pecked him on the lips, "I wasn't going to leave you here anyways. I'll call my dad, let him know what's going on. Go get something to drink, ok?"

Percy went to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water as Annabeth called Mr. Chase. She explained everything, and told him she was going to stay with Percy until he was ok.

"Of course, as long as you two need. I'll pack some clothes for you and come by soon. Tell Percy I'm sorry."

"Okay…thanks dad." She said, trying to keep his voice from cracking and hung up. She went to the kitchen to find Percy sitting in the dining table, a glass of water in front of him and his face in his hands. She stepped behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He sat up, and she laid her head on his shoulder, "I just called my dad. I'm staying as long as you need me. We'll get through this. Together. Like always."

"Together", Percy repeated, "Thanks for being here, Annabeth…I…I don't know what I would've done without you" Annabeth didn't even want to think about the possibilities. All she knew is that it could've ended badly. She pulled out a chair and sat next to him, putting her head on his shoulder and hugging his waist. They sat like that in silence until they went to bed.

Well, Annabeth went to bed. Percy lay there, unable to close his eyes. His thoughts kept drifting to his mom, and a few tears left his eyes. He shifted uncomfortably, hoping not to wake his girlfriend. Her arms were around him protectively, so it was pretty much impossible. He finally slipped out and went to the living room after grabbing Annabeth's cap. He put it on and sat in the corner of the living room until he started crying again.

Annabeth knew something was wrong when she woke up in bed alone. She left the bedroom and went to the living room, noticing her invisibility cap was gone, to find her boyfriend.

"Percy?" she called out to him, hoping he would show his face. "Percy, where are you?" Nothing…She kept searching the rest of the house, until she lay frustrated on the couch, worried sick about her missing boyfriend. She remembered what happened last time he disappeared, and she didn't want to think what would happen if he disappeared again. Her thoughts shifted from Percy to Sally, both gone.

Then the worst possibility of all came to mind…_no. It couldn't be. He's stronger than that. He wouldn't_. But those thoughts still made her sob, feeling like she was losing all that she held dear in just a few hours. She picked up a pillow and threw it across the living room in frustration. As it reached the edge of the room, it landed on top of a sleeping Percy, but to Annabeth it looked like it was floating in the air. She was a little shocked, but then remembered her cap was gone. She went over to pick up the pillow, and felt around for her Yankees cap. She took it off Percy's head to find him sleeping with puffy, red circles around his eyes.

"Percy? Percy get up, time to go to bed." She said as she shook him awake."Mom…? No, please, I didn't do it…" His eyes squeezed tighter as he shifted around, "No, please, don't!"

"Percy, wake up!" Annabeth started panicking and started shaking him more violently to snap him out of it. "For the love of Zeus, get up!" Percy snapped forward violently, his body was shaking. He noticed Annabeth to his right, with a sad look and tears in her eyes, and he immediately leapt forward into her arms.

"Oh my gods…I-she-and you…-the knife…" Percy couldn't get his thoughts straight as he sat there in Annabeth's arms.

She wondered if she will ever be able to get him back. If he will ever swallow this down. Unlike everything they ever went through: the Labyrinth, Luke, Tartarus, and Gaea, she knew this hurt the most. Percy adored Sally. He treasured her, and he always felt a little empty while going to camp and having to be away from her for an entire summer. And that's exactly why Annabeth knew she had to be here. She was his lifeline, just like he was hers. Whenever she woke to a terrible nightmare, no matter how late at night, it was always Percy there first, hugging her, whispering soothing words of encouragement in her ears, assuring her he was always there. No matter how much pain she felt, she knew she had to be strong for him. She couldn't bare losing him. Her hero. The one she loves so much.


End file.
